Tunnel to Towers’ Steel Across America tour made a solemn stop in Boston on Wednesday, honoring fallen heroes during a cross-country journey scheduled to conclude in New York City shortly after Sept. 11.
As part of the tribute, organizers brought a preserved 21-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center’s South Tower to the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston’s Seaport. The artifact, which has been traveling the country since May, has become a centerpiece of remembrance along the tour route.
“For us as first responders and veterans, what this means as we come up on the 25th anniversary is personal. It’s all about educating the next generation and not forgetting the sacrifices, not only made on 9/11 but what we’ve endured in the 20 years after in all theaters of combat,” said Dan Magoon, executive director of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes.
Guests paid their respects Wednesday as they approached a 21-foot, 16,900-pound steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center’s South Tower during the Steel Across America tour at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston’s Seaport. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)
Among those taking part was Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S. Winter Olympics hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the legendary “Miracle on Ice” game. Eruzione used the moment to remember friends who were aboard one of the planes hijacked in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“It touched the heart of our country. It touched the souls of our country,” Eruzione said of Tunnel to Towers, the nonprofit that supports 9/11 families, first responders and veterans, in part through funds raised by charity runs held across the nation.
Guests gathered Wednesday in front of the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)
The Boston ceremony drew Massachusetts first responders and members of law enforcement, creating a quiet moment of reflection as visitors stepped forward to stand near the 16,900-pound beam and pay tribute.
“It’s just crazy to think about where it once stood, the people that worked inside the buildings, the people that rushed inside to save those people, and what happened when it all came down,” said Daniel McCarthy, a Bostonian whose parents are from New York.
American flags on a grassy area at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial in Boston. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories)
The beam was brought to Fenway Park on Wednesday night after traveling to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Monday.
On Sept. 8, the tour will stop at the White House in Washington, D.C.
